Houston Astros: 3 free agents to sign and 1 to avoid

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PITTSBURGH, PA – SEPTEMBER 04: Trevor Bauer #27 of the Cincinnati Reds delivers a pitch in the first inning during game two of a doubleheader against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on September 4, 2020 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

Pick Analysis. Houston Astros. Trevor Bauer. 61. Scouting Report. SP. 1.. player

This seems like an unlikely possibility, but the Astros need to be in on the best starting pitcher on the market. As mentioned earlier, Houston will be without Verlander for quite some time due to his UCL injury, meaning that it will be Zack Greinke leading the starting rotation next season, with Lance McCullers Jr. standing behind him.

The Astros got as far as they could with Greinke and McCullers this past postseason run, but their lack of depth in the rotation came back to haunt them.

Bauer is coming off the best season of his career, and he did so in dominating fashion. With the Cincinnati Reds this past campaign, Bauer led the league in ERA (1.73), WHIP (0.779), shutouts (two), complete games (two), ERA+ (276), and hits per nine innings (5.1). As of this Monday, Bauer was named a finalist for the NL Cy Young Award, which he should win with relative ease.

The tricky part of this situation is that Bauer was the biggest critic of the Astros in regards to the sign-stealing scandal. No one thought that Bauer would even consider signing with his supposed hated rival, but silenced all of that by saying he would “consider all offers” when asked about potentially joining Houston on Twitter. Look, it’s doubtful this will even happen, but if the Astros want to return to the World Series, they need a three-headed monster in the starting rotation.

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